The Post-modern Anxiety of Existence of the Individual in Ali Smith’s There But For The (2011)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the existential dimensions of postmodern individuals’ quest for existence through their attitudes in the novel of Ali Smith There But For The (2011). In an attempt to achieve this aim, we can raise the following assumptions. First, There But For The is a postmodern novel as it embodies postmodern techniques such as fragmentation and temporal distortion, second, the novel’s main characters represent a strong embodiment of a postmodern individual through their attitudes and behaviors. In addition, the main characters are revealed in such a condition through their existential struggle with the absurdities of the modern world. In addition, thematic and stylistic analyses are adopted to depict the characters as postmodern, and examine their existential condition. In addition, we adopted a philosophical approach which puts the novel in a critical context supported by different existentialists’ perspectives. Finally, this study supported by the thematic and stylistic analyses revealed that the characters of the novel present a paradigm of postmodern individuals in an existential condition